Temptation, Frustration
by histoirejolie
Summary: Daryl happens upon a beautiful young girl hunting in the woods, and she joins the camp (S1). Daryl and Shane think she's too young, but the temptation could be too much. A love triangle in somewhat in pace with show episodes S1-S2. NO SLASH DarylxOC, ShanexOC. Rated M for language, sexual content in later chapters. I really appreciate feedback!
1. Chapter 1

Lauren kept her breath steady, pulling back her bowstring and releasing an arrow at a deer with flawless aim. She held in a whoop of triumph; she didn't want to attract any walkers, and this was the biggest kill she'd gotten in weeks. Alone for almost a month now, Lauren had hiked through the forest, defending herself, awkwardly at first, with a bow and her brother's katana – thank God for archery all those summers at camp. There was enough small game to keep her alive.

She tiptoed towards her kill, and as she grew closer, she saw another arrow next to hers, another near perfect shot to the eye. Instantly wary, she drew back her bow and her eyes swept the forest.

Slowly, nearby leafs rustled as a man's voice said, "Girl, that's my kill, I'm coming out," in a heavy Southern drawl.

Oh no. She had to keep up her brave front; if she came off as weak, he'd steal her stuff, or worse. It had happened before.

"Keep your hands up!" Lauren yelled with as much confidence as she could muster, as the man emerged from the trees, holding a crossbow pointed towards the sky. "And this is my kill. My arrow in the eye."

Her eyes met his, and her breath caught. His eyes were a piercing blue, and while he looked and sounded like a hick, he was extremely handsome. She cleared her head and reminded herself she needed this protein.

"Looks like we both got it," he said, eyes looking her up and down appraisingly. Was he going to try and overpower her, take the game by force? Let him try, she thought, pulling taught on the bowstring.

"My shot was better." she said.

"Listen girlie I got a whole camp to feed, you can't carry that whole thing skinny as you are. Come on back to my camp, you can share it, I'll carry," the stranger offered, looking at her oddly. She suddenly felt very naked, and wondered if this was some sort of trap.

"Come on, there's good people back there, pretty little thing like you shouldn't be alone," he said with a smirk that was charged with electricity.

"Why should I trust you?"

"I ain't gonna hurt you," he said.

She was hungry. She was lonely. It was against common sense to follow this random redneck deeper into the woods. But if what he said was true...

"I'm not dropping my weapon. But I'll follow you."

He grunted, gave her that mysterious, piercing look, and hauled the deer carcass over his shoulders. "Hurry on up then, camp's this way. I'm Daryl," he grunted, and started walking without a glance back.

Listening to her instincts had kept her alive this long, against the odds. She trusted that this guy was okay for some reason. Lauren followed.

DARYL POV

Daryl couldn't believe this girl. Her shot really was better. When he saw her arrow hit the buck a second before his, the last thing he expected was for the shooter to be a chick. A hot one.

He shook his head at himself, refusing to glance back at her. What was he thinking? She's too young. But he kept imagining her, two paces behind him, in those jean cutoffs, bow in arms, sword on her back... sexy but dangerous. He trusted her for some reason, though. And he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of looking back to check if she was still with him. He could hear her soft footsteps.

"How many people are in your camp?" the girl asked him, startling him out of his increasingly dirty train of thought. Damn it had been a long time since he's been with a woman.

"Bout twenty, good people. We got some fighters, some women, couple kids," Daryl answered. He turned, walked backwards, getting another good look at her. Damn, she was gorgeous. Long chocolate brown hair braided back, perfect lips, and striking, alert green eyes. His gaze dropped to her chest – she was wearing a black leather bustier over a white wifebeater like armor of some sort – the sexiest thing he'd ever seen. The sleeves of her long trench coat were leather too, as were her tall boots. Her jean shorts were cut off so short the pockets hung out. His gaze lingered perhaps a second too long. He glanced away and mumbled a reprimand to himself. Outta his league.

"What was that?" the girl asked.

"I said, you been alone?"

"Yeah, for about a month now. Sticking to the woods near the highway," she said. He couldn't believe she's survived. She must've killed plenty of walkers, and somehow avoided getting taken by some of the rougher men out there. This was no time for a girl like this to be alone.


	2. Chapter 2

They got to the camp after about twenty minutes of walking. Lauren could see women hanging laundry on a line, an older bearded guy on top of on RV with binoculars, keeping watch, she guessed. There were some men, a couple blonde women, two kids. She hadn't seen kids in a long time.

The grouped stared at her as she approached behind Daryl. She was wary of other people; she only trusted herself now. But here she was, and she didn't really understand why she was doing it.

"Well look what we got here!" yelled a dark haired, well-muscled man in his thirties, approaching them with a grin. "I'm Shane. And who might you be?" he asked her, failing to hide his slightly predatory look up and down her body. Daryl stepped in front of her.

"This here girlie shot my deer. She wouldn't give it up, so I brought her back," he said possessively with hostility in his voice. Clearly these two did not get along.

"You mean _you_ shot _my _deer. My kill," glaring stubbornly at Daryl. Looking back at Shane and the growing crowd coming towards them, she said, "My name is Lauren. Nice to meet you."

Shane shook her hand with a firm grasp and held her eye contact with the total confidence of someone who was very aware of their own good looks.

A sheriff named Rick introduced himself, his wife and little boy. The rest of the camp made their introductions, and Daryl disappeared to prep the deer for dinner.

SHANE POV

Shane watched Lauren as she sat around the fire with the others, being friendly but not sharing much about herself. She must be a badass to have made it on her own. She looked young, probably 20. Maybe older, he wasn't sure. He hoped so – he couldn't take his eyes off her lips, her shape, her legs. He saw Lori scowling at him – she'd noticed.

Sure he'd been sleeping with Lori, but since Rick was back, it's not like Lori had any right to be mad at him for looking. Besides, if Lori wanted Rick instead of him, fine. He didn't need her, and this girl showing up just proved it.

He walked over and sat down next to the girl. "Pretty impressive out-shooting Daryl for that deer," he said to her as he leaned closer. "You grow up on a farm or something? You used to hunt?"

"No, I was in college when this all started. I knew some archery from summer camp, fencing, won a couple medals. I had to learn to use those weapons for real pretty quickly, though."

"College huh? Guess that doesn't really matter anymore. What did you study?" Shane replied.

"Ancient and Medieval History."

Daryl appeared from behind them with some cut venison strips to cook. "Well ain't that useful, blue blood college girl. Fuckin' history. Couldn'ta been a nurse or something useful?" he growled as he walked past.

"Daryl, shut the fuck up," Shane glowered. "Don't worry about him, Lauren, he's a dumb hick."

LAUREN'S POV

She was glad she came here. These were nice people, nothing like what she'd encountered before. Daryl was nowhere to be found after getting his share of dinner, storming off in a temper. She wondered why he was so mad. It seemed to be at her.

People were welcoming, especially Shane – he wouldn't leave her side, and kept sneaking glances at her. Not that she minded the attention. He was very attractive, manly, and he looked like he could fight. A little flirtation was nice after so much solitude. Men like Shane didn't usually give her this kind of attention pre-apocalpyse. She had been a bit on the softer side, not chubby, but certainly nothing special. The months of hard living and calorie burning like mad turned her body into a machine. When she looked down, she felt like some movie star action heroin, like Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil.

She smiled to herself at this silly high school vanity, and the irony. She would have _killed_ to look the way she did now, before the sky fell around her. Now "being hot" really didn't mean anything anymore, and _especially_ now that she didn't blink an eye at killing either walkers or an innocent doe for the meat she needed to survive.

Lauren didn't realize how deeply isolated she had been since the virus took hold until she was surrounded by these people. She wanted to be a part of this. Not be alone ever again.

Lori, the sheriff's wife, was giving her a dirty look for some reason as she looked across the fire at her, but had seemed cool earlier. The other women were nice, though, especially Carol and Andrea.

The older man that was on the RV, Dale, came over and showed Lauren her new tent set up. Dale was so kind, and looked like a beloved professor on a fishing trip. He headed back to the RV, and people were slowly drifting towards their tents.

She looked around, and made eye contact with Daryl, who quickly looked away with a scowl, then turned her head towards Shane, who didn't even pretend to glance away from her. She shook her head, annoyed at Daryl and at herself for caring even a little bit about the token unattainable bad boy. He sure didn't seem to care about her beyond the deer the brought with her.

She glanced back up at Shane, met his dark eyes that reflected the fire, and he smiled at her with such an innocent, boyish grin that she almost forgot the sexually charged gaze that accompanied it.


	3. Chapter 3

Lauren woke to the smell of something cooking, the clanking of utensils, and the muffled sound of light-hearted chit-chat. Taking a moment to orient herself, she couldn't help but smile. She was with a group now. People were chatting over _breakfast_. This wasn't The Hunger Games, it wasn't all pure survival today. Hell, someone kept watch while she and the others slept!

This sudden burst of pre-walker normalcy and humanity was almost too much to take, and she brushed not-quite-there tears from her eyes.

She was counting her chickens before they hatched, she knew it. These people owed her nothing, there was no guarantee they'd let her in their community. They had enough mouths to feed. Sure, she'd brought that deer down but it may as has well have been Daryl. That was a man that had the hunting under control. He didn't seem the type to want help, either. Unfortunately.

What was him about him that made him so attractive? He was certainly nothing like anyone she'd been into before, or even known. He was being an ass, and he didn't care if she was around.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to be as useful as she could here. Indispensable, somehow. Now that she'd had a night among other people, great people... she couldn't go back to the solitude she'd known. She unzipped the tent and headed towards the group gathered near the food, a determined smile on her face.

DARYL POV

Daryl watched Lauren head from her tent to the breakfast area and join the others, swaying her hips unconsciously, her hourglass figure remaining despite the inevitable fifteen pounds or so everyone had lost.

She was smiling and chatting animatedly with Amy, Andrea's sister. They were about the same age he guessed, but he hadn't felt what was stirring in his chest toward the pretty blonde Amy. He forgot that bittersweet butterfly feeling existed, to be honest. It had been so long, he was unlovable.

This girl would just reject him. Who the fuck did he think he was? She's some fancy college girl, smart and beautiful. She could have anyone; why the hell would she choose him? He needed to clear his head. He grabbed his crossbow and headed towards the woods to hunt without a word to the girl that was invading the cells beneath his skin.

LAUREN POV

She sat next to Amy, the only girl about her age. Her sister Andrea asked about her life in the woods, and her life before the end. Lauren tried to answer questions semi-vaguely, and kept looking for Daryl, who had been acting as if she was invisible.

She had more important things to worry about, and she was right next to nice people for the first time in a long time. They were interested in who she was and her life. She wouldn't let some hick make her feel bad about herself now, she's not some silly teenager.

Lauren turned her head as a friendly, deep voice said, "Well good morning, sunshine." The smile on Shane's face was gleaming, and had a bit of a smirk to it that was adorable. "I almost convinced myself I dreamt you up," he added with a wink, making her blush.

Amy started giggling as Shane walked away towards Rick and Dale.

"I totally saw that blush," she said smiling. "He's kinda too old though, don't you think?"

"I don't think any of that matters anymore. I'm plenty old enough and this is the apocalypse, not like of we have a lot options," Lauren replied, half jokingly.

Somehow she found herself liking two very different options.


	4. Chapter 4

Lauren joined the women working on laundry by the water the next afternoon. She wanted to make herself useful, and it couldn't hurt to bond with the other ladies.

"Here to help," she announced herself with a smile.

"Great, there's a lot of nasty clothes to wash," Amy said. "Here, take these," she added as she handed her a small pile of shirts.

She chatted amiably with Amy, Carol, Andrea and Lori, but felt the stare of Carol's husband on her back. He was "keeping watch," which basically meant sitting on his ass and doing nothing but keep a controlling eye on his wife. Lauren was pretty sure Carol was being abused, which made her sick. So did the sight of Ed, a fat, slobbery piece of white trash.

"So where's Daryl? I haven't seen him around all day," Lauren asked the girls, hoping for some intel on the enigmatic crossbow-wielder. He was ignoring her, and she couldn't stop thinking about those stunning ice blue eyes of his. They were the eyes of a wolf.

"Daryl?" Lori asked with a look of amused surprise on her face and a glint in her eye. "As in Daryl Dixon? He's off hunting, like usual. Why do you ask?"

"Yeah Lauren, I thought you had googly eyes for _Shane_," Amy giggled.

Lori flashed her an almost imperceptible look of anger. What was that about? She was married to Rick, Shane's partner.

"I'm not googly eyed over anyone!" Lauren lied, laughing. "If you guys haven't noticed, the dead are walking around eating people. Not exactly a romantic setting."

The truth was, the redneck intrigued her with his piercing blue eyes and mysterious wall of silence. And Shane was charming, and pretty damn hot. They were both older, late 30s probably, but she didn't care. But she didn't want to admit to the other ladies her retreat into unrealistic romantic daydreams at the end of the world. It wasn't like they'd _really_ be interested in her, she was too young and didn't have the "feminine wiles" women used. Like she'd seen Lori use.

Scrubbing the blood of a flannel cut-off tee shirt (Daryl's, clearly) with a stone, she laughed as the women erupted into giggles over missing their vibrators. Well, she'd never owned one, but she could sympathize with the need for some sort of stress relief in this world.

SHANE POV

Shane couldn't take his eyes of Lauren as she mingled with the other women doing laundry, clearly fitting in well with the group. Now that Rick was back, Lori was pretending like what they had never existed. Maybe it hadn't been, just a way for Lori to find some sense of security in someone she knew and trusted. He knew he should still be torn up about it, but the arrival of this new young lady had his mind – and his eye – drifting elsewhere constantly.

Ed was "keeping watch" over the women – what a piece of shit. Still, not much he could do about it, especially in this situation. Carol never asked for help and didn't seem to want it. But suddenly, Ednd barreled his fat ass up off the rock and smacked his wife in the face. He started to run over to the quarry when he heard Lauren yell something at Ed; next thing he knew, Lauren was hit with such force she fell to the ground. He couldn't control himself any longer.

LAUREN

Time seemed to slow down as Shane threw punch after brutal punch into Ed's face, pinned down and not strong enough to even fight back much. Carol was freaking out, Andrea and Amy were shocked, but honestly, Lauren admired it. Ed deserved to get the shit beat out of him, and the passion in Shane's eyes was intoxicating. The justice behind the violence was kind of a turn on in a weird way.

Was this for Carol, or retribution for Ed hitting her? She guessed she'd been asking for it, calling him out and yelling, but she was never one to be a bystander in situations like that.

The other men heard the commotion, and pulled Shane off of a brutalized Ed. Looks like he wouldn't be a problem for a while.

She looked up at Shane and they locked eyes. His had a fierce dark passion in them – she could practically see the testosterone coming off of him in waves. He had never looked sexier.

**Thank you all for the follows and reviews! I will be updating much more often; I got a huge case of writers block. I know Shane isn't everyone's cup of tea, but remember, he hasn't gone "full Shane" at this point in the story, and maybe Lauren could fix that. And Daryl is not out of the picture, I promise!**

**Let me know in reviews what you would like to see more of!**


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